Gera: Long among the best strikers

Zoltan Gera feels Shane Long does not get the credit he deserves at West Bromwich Albion and should be ranked as one of the top strikers in the Premier League.

Long has been in the form of his life at the Hawthorns this season and has six goals to his name - which has been one of the main reasons for the club's flying start under new head coach Steve Clarke.

There have been people and pundits queueing up to explain Albion's position of fourth place in the table and Hungary international Gera believes Long should take much of the credit.

"I think he is one of the best strikers in the Premier League. He can hold the ball up, score goals, and works hard for the team," said Gera.

"He's done fantastically, last season as well. He does so much for the team all round really," said Gera.

"Sometimes you see players just scoring goals, but he doesn't just do that, he does so much for the team, not just himself. He is very important."

Gera, in his second spell at the club, feels Clarke has helped foster a magnificent spirit of unity among the players and that is the biggest factor behind Albion's success so far.

"The whole squad do it for the team. There are no individuals who just want glory for themselves. Everyone just wants to win games for the team and I think that is very, very good."

Gera knows there is no scope for Albion to rest on their achievements so far with a tricky spell of three games in eight days, including away trips to Sunderland and Swansea followed by a home clash with Stoke.

"We have some tough games coming up, two away at Sunderland and Swansea. Then we have Stoke, who play their brand of football. We're looking forward to the challenges and hopefully we can get some good results from these games," said Gera.